While the US mulls acquiring more of its next-gen B-21 aircraft, fast-moving scientific improvements may make the kind outdated upon distribution.
According to The Warzone, US Air Force ( USAF ) Chief of Staff General David Allvin has indicated that the organization is considering purchasing more than the 100 B-21s that are currently planned.
Allvin claimed that the B-21 is the bomb force’s coming and that the number of B-21s is anticipated to reach 100 by the middle of the 20th century and beyond.
The USAF is looking into options to replace or supplement B-21 production while also considering flying updated B-52s with the Rapid Dragon palletized weapons method as a cheap way to build long-lasting, low-complexity stand-off hit systems.
Despite price concerns that have been resolved through discussions with Northrup Grumman, it is also considering purchasing all 100 B-21s. However, the risk atmosphere that informed the B-21’s style a decade ago has drastically changed.
The B-21 is a member of the Long Range Stand-Off ( LRSO ) family of systems and can be used for future variations or derivatives along with the AGM-181A LRSO stealthy nuclear-armed cruise missile and other advanced systems such as munitions, sensors, electronic warfare packages and communications systems.
Nevertheless, The Warzone says that acquiring more B-21s opposes evolving developments in aviation procurement and abilities. The bomb vision is changing due to endurance demands, evolving included weather protection networks and longer-range and more competent counter-air munitions.
It even states the importance of using cost-effective, immediately designed and easily deployable stand-off devices is increasing on the field. At the same time, the B-21 may be the last novel USAF fighter.
Strategic aircraft have been the US air force’s extended arm during the 20th and early 21st centuries, but technological advancements does have forced a consider of stealth bombers ‘ role in more open-ended underwater battles.
Mel Deaile points out that cunning systems in aircraft has advanced since 2001 in an August 2022 Air University content, highlighting the importance of bombing strategies that make use of unobservable features.
Deaile also explains the part of the bomber in the past 30 years, noting how one bomber has moved from various bombers attacking a single goal to hitting multiple targets with precision.
However, he points out that China ’s growing airpower poses a challenge to US strategic bombing capabilities, noting that the People’s Liberation Army – Air Force ( PLA-AF ) is the third largest air force in the world. As of October 2023, the PLA-AF has 1,900 soldiers and has technically fielded its J-20 cunning warrior, whose numbers are expected to grow in the coming years.
Deaile also points out that China has a robust and redundant integrated air defense system ( IADS ), operating radars, fighters, and surface-to-air missile ( SAM ) systems that can range up to 300 nautical miles offshore to protect against an impending attack.
Using AI and more sophisticated sensors, China has made significant strides to battle US stealth aircraft like the B-21. Asia Times reported in December 2023 that China had used advanced radar, advanced radar, and fast weapons to simulate shooting down a B-21.
The model showcased new technologies, such as cunning aircraft with “conformal body ” that detects heating and electrical signals, autonomous friend drones and hypersonic missiles with flexible solid-fuel pulse engines. It even emphasized the potential of AI in air-to-air fight, with decision-making shifting swiftly between aircraft, drones and weapons.
In contrast to traditional methods that require big antennas to find cunning aircraft, China has reportedly developed a small, quiet anti-stealth sensor that can be quickly and quietly placed on rooftops.
A compact infrared search-and-track ( IRS T ) system based on medium-wave infrared technology that can detect the signature of fast-moving aircraft from a great distance has also been reported by Chinese engineers. The device can identify the aircraft’s outline, rotors, tail and number of engines from the infrared spectrum image.
Additionally, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Chinese researchers have developed a method to increase an F-22’s radar signature by 60,000 times using multiple radars and “smart resource scheduling.” ”
By adjusting the beam parameters and the power of each radar based on characteristics and real-time positional changes of stealth aircraft, SCMP claims the technology allows a centralized networking radar system to increase the intensity and tracking accuracy of radar signature and save time for handling other targets. By achieving comprehensive tracking of F-22 fighters with only three radars, SCMP claims the technology allows a centralized networking radar system to improve the intensity and tracking accuracy of radar signature.
According to the SCMP report, the information can be quickly passed on to interceptor fighters or SAM batteries, allowing quick F-22 fighter intrusions. It provides precise calculations for target coordinates and movement speeds, which are reportedly achievable in 0. 02 seconds.
SCMP says these radars can be strategically positioned on land, islands, ships and aerial platforms, bolstering China ’s anti-access/area denial ( A2/AD ) in the South China Sea and Western Pacific regions.
Given those difficulties, Deaile points out that the best way to breach enemy air defenses would be through swarming and the use of attritifable drones from B-21s, with the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control ( CJADC2 ) to establish an information-fluent force capable of occupying networks and attacking targets from various locations.
More capable and practical US weapons may bring the possibility that the B-21 could be the last new USAF bomber closer to reality, in addition to China’s advancements in stealth detection technologies.
In December 2022, Asia Times reported on the US Mayhem program, a hypersonic aircraft seen as the successor to the Cold War-era SR-71 Blackbird. Project Mayhem is designed to deliver unitary, area-effect munitions or conduct ISR missions. However, this year, the US pulled funding from the project, citing unclear operational demand for such an aircraft.
However, a more practical option may be integrating a long-range hypersonic weapon into existing aircraft.
This month, The Warzone reported on Lockheed Martin’s recently unveiled Mako hypersonic weapon, designed to be launched from aircraft such as the F-35, F-22, F-18, F-16, and P-8. The Warzone did not mention the missile’s flight profile, but claimed it has a length of 13 feet, a diameter of 13 inches, a weight of 1,300 pounds, and can travel at Mach 5 without mentioning its length.
The Mako may be a more feasible weapon for long-range strikes than the B-21, which is barely out of the prototype stage, and Mayhem, whose future is in doubt.
Mako has many potential launch platforms that can be dispersed to multiple bases and allied ships across the Pacific rather than a few large but potentially vulnerable bomber bases like Guam and Okinawa because the US currently has 2,456 F-35s as of April 2023.